Joan Porco, prosecution have heated exchange

Published 1:00 am, Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Defense attorneys Terence Kindlon, at left, Laurie Shanks, and defendent Christopher Porco talk during a break in court on August 1, 2006.

Defense attorneys Terence Kindlon, at left, Laurie Shanks, and defendent Christopher Porco talk during a break in court on August 1, 2006.

Photo: Michael P. Farrell

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Joan Porco, at left, exits the court following her second day of testimony on August 1, 2006. Also seen, from left, are defense attorneys Terence Kindlon and Laurie Shanks, and Christopher Porco.

Joan Porco, at left, exits the court following her second day of testimony on August 1, 2006. Also seen, from left, are defense attorneys Terence Kindlon and Laurie Shanks, and Christopher Porco.

Photo: Michael P. Farrell

Joan Porco, prosecution have heated exchange

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GOSHEN -- The late Peter Porco slept for a time with a shotgun near his and Joan Porco's bed after a disgruntled litigant had threatened him when he lost custody of his children in family court, Joan Porco said today.

Her husband also briefly considered purchasing a handgun but didn't, she said.

``We had two shotguns that were given to Peter by my father and Peter would keep it (one of the weapons) by the bed at night,'' she said, adding that she visited her childrens' school to check on their safety during that period.

But that threat was 15 years ago, noted Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael McDermott, who then explained the shotgun had been put away, unloaded, by November 2004 when the couple's son Christopher, 23, is alleged to have killed his father and permanently maimed his mother with an ax.

``That had been wrapped up and put back in the case and the ammunition stored a good many years ago. Is that correct?'' McDermott asked Joan Porco, who answered yes.

McDermott and Porco then engaged in a testy series of questions and answers, during which Joan Porco contended that she had been interviewed in a duplicitous manner by authorities after the attack.

At first, she said, she didn't realize that her son was the prime suspect. She has contended all along that Christopher is innocent.

``I think it was, like, a conning thing going on there,'' she said of one meeting with investigators, including former District Attorney Paul Clyne in which they convinced her not to have her lawyer, John Polster, present.

``You have the minutes. I don't recall,'' Joan Porco angrily said to McDermott during another question-and-answer exchange, referring to the lengthy notes he was using regarding conversations between her and investigators shortly after the attack.

Joan Porco also explained she suffered brain damage as well as the loss of her left eye. Many of her recent memories are hazy, she said. She loses her train of thought and worries a lot.

``I have difficulties, sometimes in the middle of the night,'' she said.

Several times she had to pause to gather her thoughts and said her recollection of some events was hazy.

She had initially been called to testify by McDermott and the prosecution had debated whether they should put her on the stand, given that she insists her son is innocent.

During much of Monday's cross examination, defense lawyer Laurie Shanks attempted to paint a sympathetic picture of Joan Porco, referring to her injuries and the warm, loving family she had before tragedy struck.

Today, though, McDermott began to dissect parts of that portrait with detailed questions about some of Christopher Porco's troublesome behavior before the attack, including computers he had stolen from his mother and sold on Ebay.

``You know now, that it was Christopher Porco who broke in and stole the laptops,'' McDermott asked.